Teenage Cancer Trust chief leaves to work with similar US charity

Simon Davies will aim to develop Teen Cancer America, which has been co-founded by trust supporters Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend

Simon Davies

The Teenage Cancer Trust has announced that its chief executive will step down to run a new US-based charity co-founded by two of the trust’s celebrity supporters.

Simon Davies will leave in September after 13 years in the role to head Teen Cancer America, which has been founded by The Who members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend and will work to improve cancer services in the US.

Daltrey and Townshend set up the charity after more than 10 years working with the Teenage Cancer Trust in the UK, a statement on the Teen Cancer America website says.

A Teenage Cancer Trust spokeswoman said the US charity was a new organisation with only two staff, and that Davies would help to develop it. It is not yet clear where in the US he will be based.

Davies, who is also chair of Cancer 52, an alliance of more than 60 organisations working to address a lack of funding for less common cancers, said the decision to leave had been a difficult one.

"I remain absolutely committed to Teenage Cancer Trust and our vision," he said. "This is an amazing opportunity to take the philosophy of care we have developed and help huge numbers of young people who currently don’t have the support we’ve provided for their UK peers."

David Hoare, chair of the Teenage Cancer Trust, said Davies would be missed but would remain on the board as a trustee. "We have in place a well-defined strategy for the future and over the next few months we’ll be looking for an exceptional candidate who can lead the charity and drive it forward," he said.

A spokeswoman for the charity said it was only in the initial stages of finding a replacement chief executive, but that it would advertise for the post both internally and externally.

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